While many Tarleton students traveled to their respective hometowns this past holiday break to indulge in some much needed, extended family time, the men’s and women’s Tarleton State basketball teams have been hard at work shooting hoops over the holidays.
The 2023 – 2024 NCAA Division I college basketball season began on Nov. 6, 2023 and since the season debut, the men’s and women’s basketball teams have constructed themselves an impressive record.
Prior to the official start of the season, both the men’s and women’s teams participated in a total of three exhibition basketball games.
The women’s team battled McMurray and UNT Dallas, while the men’s team faced-off against Howard Payne University. In each of these pre-season scrimmages, both Tarleton teams earned a substantial lead in each match and emerged victorious.
During November, the Tarleton State men’s team also had the opportunity to participate in the 2023 SoCal Challenge basketball tournament where they earned the championship title for the “SAND” division. In addition, Tarleton State senior forward Jakorie Smith was named MVP for the “All Sand Team.”
Solely in the month of November, the Tarleton men’s basketball team accumulated a remarkable total of five game victories out of a total of seven games.
Moreover, Tarleton’s women’s team seized a monumental win in their first official NCAA game of the season where they won against Howard Payne with a triple-digit score of 106 – 38.
Furthermore, on Dec. 16th, Tarleton’s junior guard, Jakoriah Long single-handedly dropped a whopping 34 points – the most points by a Texan in nearly 10 years – during a matchup against McNeese. For her efforts, the WAC announced that Long was both the WAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week and the WAC Women’s Basketball Newcomer of the Week for games played in the span of Dec. 11–17.
“The Texans played just one game in the week, but Long’s performance was dominant enough for her to catch the conference’s attention. Long tallied 34 points (11–13 FG, 3–4 3 PT, 9–10 FT), three steals, two rebounds and two assists on Saturday in Tarleton’s 88-64 road win at McNeese,” the Tarleton Sports website stated.
Seeing that the 2023 – 2024 basketball season will conclude sometime in the middle of March, there is plenty of time for students and staff to head to Wisdom Gym to support our revered Tarleton Texans.
For information regarding the schedule and game statistics for Tarleton State University’s men’s and women’s basketball teams, please visit tarletonsports.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule and tarletonsports.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule.
